Your podcast is getting underway. You’ve got some of the best recording equipment around, and thanks to a handful of noteworthy guests, you have killer content too. There’s just one last thing to worry about: how do you get podcast listeners?

Podcast marketing takes several forms. You’ll find individual tactics may work better for your audience, but if you have no idea where to start, here are five of our favorite podcast promotion ideas.

Transcribe Your Episodes

You can digest podcasts just about anywhere – in the car, on a jog, or while folding a load of laundry. However, there are still times when popping on headphones and playing a podcast isn’t feasible. Don’t lose listeners because they can’t turn the volume up. Instead, bring the content to them by transcribing your episodes.

Transcription is great for SEO purposes, too. Posting a podcast without a corresponding transcript makes it harder for people to search for you. You’re also more likely to have your podcast quoted in articles on the topic of your episode since the author can quickly source a line or two for their piece. More quoted content means more awareness of your podcast – and that leads to more listeners.

Create Social Media Teasers

Even if you don’t have established social media handles for your podcast, you likely have your personal handle or a company page to share content. Develop podcast marketing photos and videos that resonate with your audience, like this simple clip from The Good Stuff & The Noise by INK Communication Co. It hooks listeners in with a tasty morsel of content, preparing them for the main course of the entire episode.

Other social teaser ideas include pull quote images that share a takeaway with your audience, a gif highlighting the episode’s theme, and a click to tweet button on a complementary blog post.

Post Your Episodes in Multiple Places

You can host your podcast in so many spots; make sure you’re not limiting yourself to one network. At an absolute minimum, you should work to get your podcast on iTunes. Nieman Lab estimates about 70 percent of all listening happens either through iTunes or on Apple’s native Podcasts app. If your podcast is only on its hosted site, you’re missing out on a ton of potential listens. It’s easy to get set up on iTunes, too. Having high search rankings will only increase the number of people tuning into your show, so be mindful of how you categorize and tag your podcast.

Don’t just stop at iTunes, either. SoundCloud has a nifty integration with Twitter where fans can play your episode right from their timelines. Stitcher sends more than 65,000 podcasts to iPhone, iPad, Android and PC devices. You can even upload an album consisting of your favorite episodes on Spotify. Newer apps like Overcast and Anchor can also play a role in your marketing efforts. Don’t worry about potentially fragmenting your audience. You never know how someone will stumble onto your work, so get it out there in a variety of ways.

Make Life Easy For Your Guests

If your podcast features interviews with outside guests, you’ve already got their pre-existing audience at your fingertips. Sometimes guests need a little extra nudge, though. Once you’ve recorded your episode, give them an opportunity to share with their network. Providing graphics with pull quotes, like the Fair Game podcast does, is an excellent way to achieve this:

Additionally, feel free to draft up some sample social copy that your guest can easily plug into their networks. The goal here is to provide as little work for them as possible. They took the time to appear on your podcast; they’ll be thankful that you take the time to draft up social content for them. Send guests an email with a link to the episode along with any additional asks.

Review Your Reviews

Reviews are critical to the success of a podcast, particularly on iTunes. Include a call-to-action in every single episode, asking your listeners to leave a rating or review. If you’re producing top-notch content, they’ll be happy to help out.

You can also offer a little extra incentive for fans by hosting a giveaway in exchange for reviews. Chris Winfield did a contest for the launch of his Deconstructing Success podcast, providing simple, actionable steps for users to post their review on iTunes. To keep entries in line, he asked fans to send an email with their iTunes name.

Wrap-up

Marketing your podcast takes a lot of work, and a hit show isn’t going to happen overnight. But by taking the steps above, you’ll be well on your way to getting your podcast in front of new listeners.